Friday, July 29, 2011

Fort Worth native and self-proclaimed 'Barbecue King' Walter Jetton (pronounced ji-TAWN) made his way into the national spotlight as the pitmaster of choice for President Lyndon Johnson. In 1959, the LBJ Ranch (the Texas White House) hosted its first of many barbecues, and Walter Jetton was manning the pits.

A 1959 barbecue at LBJ Ranch. BBQ action begins at 4:00 mark

Mr. Jetton would be the cook of choice for several more of these LBJ Ranch BBQ events, and eventually would make his way to the actual White House for a D.C. barbecue. All of this exposure made the man deservedly famous and he parlayed that fame into a published cookbook in 1965, just three years before his death in Fort Worth. While no longer in print, I was lucky enough to borrow a copy from local restaurateur Amy Severson who keeps a small personal library of historic cookbooks. I was grateful to receive such a historic book with no questions asked.

The book opens with a somewhat fanciful idea of the birth of barbecue on Texas cattle drives and an accurate portrayal of its rise in the meat markets of Central Texas. Here he also wisely proclaims that "Barbecue is the meat, not the gravy and not the sauce." and that "To barbecue, you need a pit". This introduction is followed by many of the recipes you'd expect to find like brisket, spare ribs and a signature barbecue sauce whose recipe is preceded with the proclamation "This is the secret of the ages I am giving you here, and I would not be surprised if wars have been fought over less." Mr. Jetton was a showman in his duties. Always impeccably dressed, he also had an entertaining sense of humor which really comes through in the book. On utensils and atmosphere "there is no reason why they can't stir their coffee with twigs or popsicle sticks. You will find that people love eating barbecue in this way." Then, on venison "if you start cooking it over the fire without nursing it quite a bit first, it will be about as tender and appetizing as a dry board, which few people have any natural taste for." Besides the standards, you can also find oddities like calf fries, Comanche beef heart, vinegarron rice and barbecued spiced bananas which I wasn't expecting to find alongside all of that meat.

To see scanned images from the book, this blog has all of the recipes along with other historical photographs of Mr. Jetton, and for more information on Walter Jetton and his connection with the LBJ Ranch, the Amazing Ribs website has a great profile of Mr. Jetton along with detailed accounts of LBJ's exploits in barbecue diplomacy.

DISCLAIMER:

Each joint is judged on the essence of Texas 'cue...sliced brisket and pork ribs. Sausage is only considered if house made. Sauce is good, but good meat needs no adornment to satisfy. Each review can only be based on specific cuts of meat on that particular day. Finally, if the place fries up catfish or serves a caesar salad, then chances are they aren't paying enough attention to the pits, so we mostly steered clear.

-THE PROPHETS OF SMOKED MEAT

POSM GEAR

Buy the Official Shirt of The Prophets of Smoked Meat

CONTACT US

If you know of a joint we need to add to the Texas BBQ Map, or if you just have some good, honest feedback about our reviews, please email the Prophets of Smoked Meat to let us know.

BBQ COGNOSCENTI

WHO'S LOGGING ON?

COUNTER

GLOSSARY

Crust - Layer of black goodness around the edges of brisket or ribs that holds excellent flavor.

Meat Caramel - After gratuitous amounts of smoke are applied, and liquid rendered fat has come to the surface of the meat to mix with the applied rub, a chemical rendering takes place that creates a sweet sticky layer on the surface of the meat that clings to the tip of your finger when pulled away from the meat. This is affectionately known as meat snot.

Parboiled - A process in which ribs are boiled before being grilled or smoked. This is what makes meat fall off the bone, and it also leaves good, flavorful fat in the water. It's cheating.Rendered - The process of cooking fat until it literally melts into the meat. Cook it too fast and the fat is absent from the meat creating dryness. If it's not cooked long enough, the fat remains gelatinous and unsavory. There's no need to put well rendered fat aside.Roast-Beefy - Brisket that hasn't been bathed in smoke, but rather tastes as if it was thrown in an oven like any hunk of roast beef. It might be good food, but it's not BBQ.Sauced - Unsolicited BBQ sauce slathered over top of your meat, usually to add what was non-existent flavor in the meat.Smoke Line - Red line around the outside edge of sliced brisket just below the crust that signifies an adequate amount of time in the smoker.Sugar Cookie - Fat that turns to a slightly sweet and crispy flavorful nugget after copius amounts of smoke are applied.